New colors and how they’re hiding from us

Colors: The 7 visible hues that occupy a minuscule portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and our entire constant field of vision. Like all artists, I happen to enjoy these colors. I’ve grown quite close to them, actually, and I cant picture life without any of them.

I was watching a lightning storm last year, and with every flash, I saw a bright purple light fill the sky. I always found this odd, but it never posed any real problem to me. I always wondered why I saw purple when everyone I knew saw either yellow or white. I asked my biology teacher if I might be colorblind, and she told me that I may actually just be more receptive to purple shades, and that I might, in fact be seeing just a little farther into the spectrum than some others.

This brought me to the realization that the electromagnetic spectrum is much larger than what we are capable of seeing. The spectrum of visible light is very small, compared to the rest of the spectrum, and is as the name implies; the only light that is actually visible. This implies that the rest of the spectrum is filled with other colors.

There have been studies on this, apparently. Experiments have been conducted in attempts to create a pigment of a color that is off of our color spectrum. Colors are a tricky thing, though. It is impossible to successfully mix two colors without getting a new one, or even imagine the conceptual result. Any artist in a studio can mix blue and yellow, only to get green; however in the early morning you can look at the rising sun and see the yellow horizon fade into the blue night and never get the same effect. This “yellowish-blue” is known as an impossible shade, or at least a shade that is impossible to mix yourself.

So I researched further. I found out that the human eye only has 3 color-receptive cones. We go about our days seeing shades of only Red, Green and Blue. So here’s something to think about: where are the other colors? The answer is simply: Most likely everywhere. We just can’t see them, obviously.

There is a creature called the Mantis Shrimp. Among many of its bizarre features, the Mantis Shrimp has 16 color-receptive cones in its eyes, and is evidentially capable of seeing into both the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums. This means that it can see 13 completely unique colors beyond the 3 we are capable of. Not to mention all of the combinations that can be made.

There wouldn’t be any obvious advantage to seeing colors, but just imagine the hundreds of colors that the human eye has never seen before. Life would be an artist’s candy store if we could choose to use these in our mediums. Keep in mind that there is also a theory stating that every human might perceive colors differently. Do you trust your eyes? What kind of world do you see?

2 Responses

Wow, I never realized how limited our vision is, at least when compared to the Mantis shrimp. Your post reminds me how beautiful the interplay of light and shadow is, and how artists pay close attention to these subtle differences in colors and hues.

Note: The Times Union is not responsible for posts and comments written by non-staff members.